They Get Younger and Stronger
by Kyatto no Edo
Summary: The Doctor finds himself feeling suddenly lost and damaged, with no idea and no recollection as to what may have happened. The last thing he expected to encounter after this would be a newly regenerated Master. Since when was the Master willing to help?


They Get Younger and Stronger

For the first time in a very long while, the Doctor has started to experience bouts of amnesia. He can't quite place what had happened and why, and the few memories he can recall are vague at best. Flashes of light, feelings of his energy being drained at a rapid place, a young handsome man in all black... This by far wasn't the first time he'd hit the bottom of the Valley of the Bizarre, but it was unsettling all the same. Fortunately - well, at least to him - he was without companions this go around. Perhaps that was why he got into trouble in the first place. No human consciences to hold him back.

Now he found himself at an alien pub. The drinks were brightly colored with names no human could ever pronounce, and the food was living wiggly bits of various small creatures with a spicy sauce for dipping. Not that the Doctor came there to partake - those particular crunchies tended to give him a rash. No, instead he went there entirely on instinct. Something thrumming in the back of his mind told him that was the time and place to be.

It wasn't long until he figured out why. Through the noise of the crowd he was able to pick up a very distinct sound - a TARDIS. A living, working TARDIS. Of all things improbable, that was on top of the list. It's a wonder no one else noticed. Perhaps he had gone a bit senile in his old age? He was about to go back to his drink when he caught whiff of a particular scent. It was very, very familiar. The Doctor took a few quick whiffs of the air before turning in his seat. Not too far a way he saw the impossible thing - a Time Lord standing right before him. There was no mistaking the smell or psychic presence.

He was tall, nearly a foot taller than he was the Doctor reckoned. A well-tailored Nehru jacket hugged his fit torso and a pair of black jeans hugged him in such a way that left nothing to the imagination. However, the Doctor couldn't stop staring at his face. High cheekbones, a strong jawline, and piercing green eyes - not much unlike his own. The only thing that made him slightly more confident as to the stranger's identity was the mess of bleached blond hair and the lightest shadow of facial hair. The man strode over to him with confidence.

"Doctor," he said in a low, smooth tone.

"Master," the Doctor gasped automatically.

"Of all the things you remember," the Master grinned. "I'm flattered."

When he was met with a very confused look, the Master sighed and decided to humor him. He leaned in closer so there was little space between them. "So you don't remember?"

"I remember a lot of things," the Doctor stammered defensively. "Millions of them, even. In fact I remember you practically dead - a mass of flesh and energy. I remember you sacrificing yourself by taking on Rassilon. I remember you dying and leaving me completely on my own! Again."

As the Doctor's tone grew stronger and angrier the Master couldn't help but chuckle. It was adorable. "Aw," he mock-pouted. "Did your immense grief over me cause you to regenerate, then?"

"I was already dying well before then," the Doctor growled. "You give yourself too much credit."

The Master glanced around at their surroundings, deciding on his next course of action. In a nonchalant manner, he picked up some squirming legs from the bowl, dipped them in sauce, and made a lewd display of licking it off before slurping the appendages into his mouth and down his throat. The Doctor grimaced, which only gave the Master more reason to grin. He still liked winning.

"Why don't we take this outside?"

-;-

The Doctor followed him into an empty alleyway near a big green dumpster. He made no point in hiding his bafflement when the Master opened the lid.

"Ladies first," the Master smirked.

The Doctor rubbed his temple as he walked over and started to climb in. "You have got to be kidding."

"You only wish I were," the Master said as he followed him inside.

Instead of landing in a heap of garbage, they found themselves in the console room of a TARDIS. The Doctor vaguely recognized it, as it clearly had been renovated since it was last used. Whatever had happened, it was capable of flipping Time upside down and then some. The last incarnation of the Master he saw was even more stranded than he was.

"You remember Lolita, don't you?" The Master lovingly stroked the console, much like the Doctor tended to do. Her hum was lower than the Doctor's, as if it had been to hell and back many times. Old and tired, but not yet passed her prime.

"Can't believe you named her," the Doctor scoffed.

"You're one to talk," the Master grinned. "'Sexy', really? That's the best you could do?"

The Doctor immediately took alarm to that. "How did you- ?"

In response, the Master tapped his own head. "Someone still isn't very good at locking their doors."

"I'm just rusty," the Doctor snapped and stormed over so he could give the other Time Lord less space. "It's not like I've had to keep tabs on it for the past several hundred years."

This body was a feisty one. The Master approved of this. "And that would be why I find your precious apes so incredibly boring. All they do is shower you with blind praise - which, don't get me wrong, can be rather lovely - but they lack the ability to keep you on your toes. Once you've roughed them up beyond repair, there's not much else to be gained from them. There's quite better company out there."

"Let's cut this banter, shall we?" The Doctor was in no mood to head into that argument again.

"Very well," The Master rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck. In a few swift movements he wound up on his plush leather jump-seat with the Doctor on his lap.

After several futile seconds of half-assed struggling, the Doctor conceded and settled into that position. Despite the awkwardness, he wasn't about to ruin an opportunity to get some answers. Even if it meant playing the Master's little games for a while. He had plenty of time, now.

"Have I mentioned yet that I like this new body of yours?" The Master purred, running his fingertips up along the Doctor's arm. "You're no longer the size of a moose."

"Yes, well," the Doctor pursed his lips. "Now you're a giraffe."

"As it should be," the Master smirked as he held on tighter. "Now then, I'd like you to focus."

The Doctor frowned. "On what?"

"I'm going to see if I can get you to remember what had happened," the Master brought his hand to the Doctor's head. "Consider it a gift."

There were some images flickering briefly. Every so often one would stick for a few extra seconds. But it wasn't strong enough. There was something keeping him from being able to put the pieces together.

"I must say," the Master said in surprise. "They've gotten rather good at memory suppressant. I guess I'll just have to explain."

"Go on, then."

"Seems like you've been making quite the spectacle of yourself, lately. Upon my return I've heard rumors of your death. How much more of a coward could you possibly be? Faking your own death just to get some peace? That's what children do, my dear Doctor." the Master did nothing to hide the fact he felt the Doctor was currently the most pathetic thing in the universe. "However, it seems not everyone fell for that little stunt. After whatever you had been doing up until then, that was the icing on top for them. You see, you're so focused on everything in the universe that you forget there also exists life outside of it. The Eternals have been most displeased with you."

The Doctor's brows furrowed. "What do you mean by that? Whatever could I have possibly done to them?"

"Most things they are willing to turn a blind eye to because it's none of their business," the Master explained. "They were even capable of looking past the Time War and ignoring it. However, they still know what you did then, and it seems everything since had gotten to the point where they got fed up with you. Not that I blame them."

"They baited you," he continued. "I can't say I know how, but obviously you fell right into it. You've never been terribly bright. They imprisoned you and scanned your memories, trying to find a weakness that would keep you in order from that point forward. As it so happens, they found me. Though I was in a weak state then, I had to regenerate to stop the death process. So I must say, thank you. My being here is all completely thanks to you." The way the Master said that sounded like he had won the lottery, but it was obvious he was mocking the Doctor to get under his skin. "They were able to pull me from the nothingness, and were kind enough to resurrect Lolita from my own memories as well. The one thing they loved about the Time Lords was how vast and pliable our minds are."

The Master chuckled wistfully. "It seems after that they shut off your memories of what they did and dumped you wherever you took off from. The result being that, well, I'm here now. I'm here for good, so you'd better get used to it. I suppose you might say, I've been brought back to keep you in line. You're in quite a lot of trouble, my Doctor."

"Why should I believe you?" The Doctor refused to let this sink in. He didn't need his old enemy now acting as his parole officer.

"I'll be happy to prove it, but it looks like it'll require a better connection. More contact. I'm sure you know what that means." The Master tilted the Doctor's head so he could meet his eyes.

The Doctor swallowed. "... Yes."

The Master wasted no time as he leaned in to capture the Doctor's lips with his own. He brought his hand up to cup his face as he nudged the other man's lips to part with his tongue, deepening the kiss further. The Doctor made a small muffled groan as the Master concentrated on getting his own mind past the barrier the Eternals put in place. It was a stronger connection, however. The Doctor's mind captured glimpses of his captors, of the Master's resurrection and regeneration. But not much else beyond it, and those few memories alone were starting to slip.

When it proved too fruitless, the Master broke the kiss and peered at the Doctor. There weren't too many options left, short of putting together a mind probe. Even that only had about a fifty percent chance of effectiveness in this situation. When the Master settled on the best choice, he chuckled coldly and pecked the Doctor on the lips. "Looks like we'll have to go all the way with this, won't we?"

"You can't possibly mean..." The Doctor shook his head and struggled out of the Master's grasp. "No. I'm drawing a line here. There's no way I will let you do that so I will just gladly assume you are lying as much as you always have and go about my merry way."

"Touchy," the Master got to his feet, still looking amused. "I could've sworn your previous body would have jumped at a chance like this. What with the overwhelming guilt complex and all. You are still the one who killed your people. I would've thought it'd have taken more than a few bodies to get past something like that."

"Yes, well, I'm not the kind of man you think I am. New body, new rules, new emotional tolerances. It's in the past, and that's where it's going to stay," the Doctor tried to make a beeline for the door, but the Master stepped in his way.

"I can tell you're lying," the Master said as he stepped forward to back the Doctor against the console. "You are really keen on being out of order with everything. Denial is supposed to come before grief and guilt, not after."

"It's a fixed point, so there's no use dwelling on it!" the Doctor snapped.

"Time can be rewritten! You and I both know that."

"Not that. And we both know it," the Doctor countered.

"Come now, Doctor," the Master purred. "Let's just get this done with so we can continue on to other things, yes? I'd have thought you'd quite like it. It'll be just like the old days at the Academy..."

-;-

It didn't take long for the Doctor to be bent over Lolita's console with his trousers down to his knees. The Master reached around to pull the bowtie off and shove it in the Doctor's mouth. If he was going to focus on this, he didn't need to be distracted by noise. No matter how lovely they might sound. Lolita was kind enough to produce a bottle of lubricant in one of her drawers so he wouldn't have to resort to saliva.

With one hand pressing down on the back of the Doctor's neck, he lubed himself and got into position. He grabbed the thick mess of the Doctors hair and forced him flash against the console, his face nearly slamming against a lever. That was his warning as the Master thrust deep inside him.

It didn't take long before the Doctor felt the rush of warmth and energy within himself. His vision went black for a moment and then everything the Master described played through his mind like a shoddy film. He remembered being captured, being paralyzed. He could remember the pain as he felt them sift through his mind and memories. The Master being reborn in thin air as well as the regeneration that followed. They seemed to make a deal with the Master, and he could clearly remember a scheming, diabolical grin being flashed in his direction. Then his mind flashed white and he found himself back in his own TARDIS.

"... I-I believe you," the Doctor coughed when the Master removed the soggy tie after pulling out. "You were right."

"Music to my ears," the Master replied cheerfully as he got himself situated. "You really know how to flatter a girl."

The Doctor straightened up and managed to look presentable once more despite having to ditch the bowtie. "Master."

"Oh yes, keep singing my praises," the Master grinned. "You know what your Master likes."

"Am I allowed to go, or do you have something else in store for me?" the Doctor was exasperated by now, not to mention exhausted.

The Master tapped his chin in thought for a moment before shaking his head. "No, I suppose not. You're free to leave. I can always track you down again once I've thought of something."

"How charitable of you," the Doctor said as he stepped past him towards the door. He paused for a moment just after he opened it slightly. With a soft sigh, he turned his head and flashed the Master the smallest of smiles. "Welcome back."

The Master's playful demeanor vanished and he turned away, shoving his hands in his pockets. There was a beat of silence, before he murmured "...You too."

-;-

FIN


End file.
